If you want privacy at the front of your home to stop people to seeing in, then you could either change your gates to completely enclosed the area and have a CCTV system set up so visitors can alert you when they arrive. Or preferably, you could separate the two drives by erecting a fence between the two garage doors and plant a nice tall hedge 3/4 of the way along the front boundary to obscure the view of the main house. You could then reverse round the hedgerow and park the car at an angle so it is partially obscured by the hedgerow, with CCTV and security lights shining down from the top of the garage to give you peace of mind. It would be lovely to remove the gates and be able to look out of your front door and see the hedgerows, and they would also help to muffle the sound of the traffic

It's up to you how much you cover; personally, I'd go for the whole wall - it looks more dramatic. I'm really not good when it comes to curtains and stuff; we went for shutters just because I couldn't do the whole curtains/ blinds thing, however I had a look for you, maybe you can get better advice from others. From the looks of it, your wall is about 4m wide, so I think you might need 2 curtain poles if you go for the whole wall; obviously, only one pole if it's just the window. I found this; they do curtain poles 4m long for about £47. And I love that polished graphite shade, I think it could go well with the rest of the room. http://www.polesandblinds.com/speedy-nikola-28mm-metal-curtain-pole-12/?colour=Polished+Graphite They have it in double too, but I think it's unnecessarily expensive: http://www.polesandblinds.com/integra-zorb-28-19mm-double-curtain-poles-5/?colour=Black+Nickel Ikea sells this double one, it's a bit thin, 3.8m long and with the right curtains, it could get covered, so you won't even notice it http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S69929247/ Dunelm Mill for sheers - they have all sorts, including plain: http://www.dunelm-mill.com/shop/curtains/voile-panels/ or this: http://www.netcurtainsdirect.com/range.php?t=voile-panels or Ikea again. I'm afraid I'm out of ideas... as I said, I'm really not good at it - just too much choice everywhere. I hope this helps, maybe others will chip in. Good luck!

I do feel for you, a similar thing has happened where I live. Two storey flats overlooking pensioners bungalows. Privacy has gone and light is reduced. Complaints were put in, a petition was put in but 42 flats brings in a lot of revenue for the local council. The value of our property has dropped as a result of this - I paid a premium to buy the place as we were not overlooked at all previously. It is heart breaking and soul destroying, one of the neighbours succumbed to the depression and has now been taken into care. A chap moved into the upper flat across the road from me and as the flats are so close I can see he has a mole the size of a new penny on his left shoulder!! Scuze me for passing on this rather personal information - that is how close the flats are and the lack of privacy on both sides. I do not want to move and lose money, am too old to be doing with the upheaval anyway. These are sad times we live in.

I tend to prefer long curtains personally as well but if you think that brushing past them would annoy you then I’d go for short. Roman blinds could be an option as well if they will tuck under the pelmet, I do feel that you’d need a double layer approach with perhaps a roller blind in the window to block out the light tho. You could always ask the curtain maker to include curtain weights in the bottom. This would help to make the fabric hang a lot straighter. Of course this does depend on what type of fabric you choose. A thick woven wool or chenille for example (something you might use for cushions or upholstery) will have a lot more bulk and stick out more. Synthetic materials such as nylon and polyester tend to drape better because of the smooth weave. Here’s some advice on choosing fabrics https://www.themillshop.co.uk/blog/which-is-the-best-fabric-for-curtains A plain simple pelmet would look best I think even if it’s curtains or Roman blinds.